Changing World
by Melya
Summary: During the night following the events of "Secret of my Excess", Spike is restless as worries and questions keep him awake.
1. Chapter 1: Like a Stranger

Changing World

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_**Author's note: **__So... yeah, it would seem that I've been infected by the very contagious ponymania virus too. No matter how stubbornly I usually try to avoid girly stuff__, I just can't help loving this show. I blame it mostly on the lovable characters, the rich universe they live in and the refreshing __candor __of those heartwarming friendship stories._

_As for this fic, it's actually the first time I'm attempting to write __in __third person, my previous ones consisting mostly of internal monologues. (I'm also breaking my old tradition of the interminable introduction, apparently.) Please tell me if I made mistakes or if you have any kind of advice to help me improve my writing. __Constructive __reviews are always very welcome. Thank you for your interest in my story!_

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own these characters or anything else that belongs to the world of _My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic_. They are the property of Hasbro (with the amazing contribution of Lauren Faust), while I am merely an appreciative fan who got inspired to use their work in my spare time for entertainment purposes only. Needless to say, I make no profit out of this and I mean no harm to the rightful owners of the original material. Thank you for your understanding (and tolerance, hehe)._

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**Chapter 1: Like a Stranger**

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The sun was still high above Ponyville, but it was abnormally dark in the streets below. A heavy smoke was rising from the blackened remnants of several wasted buildings, clouding the sky as though a storm was at hand. That did not keep the dragon's greedy eye from noticing the glistening of rainbow-colored gemstones from inside the stylish construction.

A powerful forelimb went through one of the Carousel Boutique's large windows like a stick through a spider web. After a few moments of fruitless fumbling around, the intruder growled angrily and pulled out his empty paw. Grabbing the superior part of the pointed structure, he tore it off without the slightest effort and sent it crashing down on a neighboring store with a deafening sound of shattering glass.

Towering over the base of the once pretty boutique, he stopped moving when his gaze fell upon a sight even more stunning than the precious stones he had been coveting: in the middle of the main room stood a unicorn white as snow, with elegant curls of a deep violet flowing over the side of her head and cascading down the back of her gracious neck. Visibly paralyzed with fright, the ravishing creature looked up to behold the gigantic beast, before letting out a piercing squeal and fleeing through the massive hole where the oval window used to be.

Forgetting all about the jewels, the dragon turned to chase the distraught pony through a shambles of collapsed buildings. He could hear faint shrieks as his feet crushed habitations and markets like ants' nests and wild animals protesting as his tail sent apple trees flying like toothpicks, but he paid them no attention.

A nagging feeling of guilt at the back of his mind kept trying to come up to the surface, but for some reason he could not remember, he had chosen to ignore it. For all he knew, he was taking everything he wanted and it felt great. He had never known such power and freedom in his short life and the feeling was addictive.

The unicorn was a lot smaller than he remembered ponies to be, but he did not stop to think it over. All he saw was the rare beauty of her fair coat and her bright blue eyes, which reminded him of the finest sapphires. Such perfection could not be left out of his collection. Why was she running away from him, he wondered with frustration. He only wanted to watch her gorgeous mane glisten in the sunlight and to be surrounded by its sweet lavender perfume. How he had longed to feel its silky softness beneath his fingers... He was now determined to claim the white mare as his own possession, like all the other pretty things he had desired and taken without permission. She would belong to him and be his alone to contemplate at will, whether she was willing to or not.

The dragon could see the distance between himself and his prey diminishing dramatically with each step he took after her. She was headed for the mountains on the outskirts of Ponyville, probably in a hopeless attempt to hide in one of the narrow caverns likely to be found at their base. He had no intention to let her escape so easily.

He closed in on her, setting all nearby bushes on fire with a single breath, and threw himself against the mountain side just before she could reach it. Boulders came tumbling down from every direction, blocking all potential issues.

Panting and shaking like a leaf, the unicorn found herself backed to the mountain, surrounded on both sides by rocks too big for her to climb. Forced to face her pursuer, she lifted her beautiful eyes, widened with terror and filled with a deep sadness.

"Spike!" she pleaded despairingly. "Spike, please, stop! It's me, Rarity. You do remember me, don't you?"

Having no time to waste with words that no longer held any meaning, the beast only roared menacingly. Bravely taking a step forward, the tiny mare persisted.

"I know you are still there, somewhere inside... Oh, Spike dear, can't you remember who you are? What happened to you, my friend? I don't recognize my little Spikey-Wikey anymore."

Tears were now rolling down her delicate cheeks. Her voice had triggered something buried deep inside and, for a split-second, the dragon's looming hand wavered, but the thought of all the riches waiting for him to gather soon took over any lingering trace of emotion. An enormous set of claws reached down and seized the white pony firmly, squeezing the breath out of her lungs.

The predator began to climb with his precious load, but before he could get far up into the mountain, a sudden flash of light exploded above his head, forcing his eyes shut. He felt pulled backward by some invisible force and, startled, he dropped his captive as he lost his grip. He landed on his back several dozens of feet lower, stunned and bewildered.

As he got back up, still confused about what had just happened, the dragon heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Spike, what have you done?"

He was pretty sure that he knew that voice better than any other, but in the fragments of memories striving to take shape in his foggy mind, it had never sounded so stern. Something was terribly wrong. The world went spinning as Spike's brain furiously endeavored to make sense of the words he had heard and of what he had been doing. Then, turning to see a purple figure standing in the wilderness, he remembered.

"Twilight?"

Instantly, he shrunk back to his original size and found himself face to face with the unicorn he considered his guardian and his closest friend. The way she was glaring down at him made him wish he could make himself even smaller to hide from her sight. Vaguely aware that he had gravely misbehaved, the shameful reptile gulped and hung his head, ready for a justified lecture.

Hearing only the heavy silence linger on, he carefully risked a look around him and gathered up the courage to ask in a feeble voice:

"What happened? W-what am I doing here and why is..."

He froze and stopped breathing when a pale form caught his eye. It was the white unicorn, lying lifeless among boulders nearby. Memories of what had only felt like an obscure illusion a few moments earlier came flooding back and Spike felt his stomach turn as realization finally dawned on him. Blinded by his disproportionate thirst for presents, he had completely lost control and turned against those he loved the most. He was the cause of the desolation he could see spreading everywhere in the distance before him. He had reduced his friends' homes to ashes, he had terrorized and certainly injured innocent villagers... and in his wild obsession, he had killed his dear Rarity. He really was a monster.

The scream that had been building up inside of him as his thoughts were recollecting died in a whisper on his dry lips.

"No..."

Spike ran to the dressmaker's side, only to have his fear confirmed: she was no longer breathing. Overwhelmed, he felt his short legs falter and he fell to his knees, his heart racing and his head threatening to burst.

"No! Oh no! No, no, no! NOOOOOO!"

This could not be real, he obstinately repeated himself through bitter tears. There had to be a way to turn back time and to stop his madness from taking over, to keep all this from happening. Surely, Twilight knew a spell to make everything alright...

His feelings were still raging like a maelstrom within when his grim companion spoke again at last.

"I am terribly disappointed in you, Spike. You let greed corrupt your heart and turn you into an element of chaos. The dragon I see in front of me is not the Spike I once knew and loved."

Those last words struck him like a hoof to the chest. She had addressed him similar words once and they had pierced his heart, so much that he had decided to run away, only this time, he knew that she really meant them. His whole world had been crumbling down in an instant and only she remained. He felt that if she truly was rejecting him now, he would just fall to pieces and be left as little more than an insignificant pile of empty scales.

"T-T-Twilight, I'm s-so, _so_ sorry!" he sobbed. "I... I d-don't know what... what got into m-me..."

He was a miserable sight, but the unicorn was impassive.

"It's too late, now. Being sorry won't bring her back or make things right again for all those ponies whose lives you have broken. I'm sorry, Spike, but you can't stay here anymore."

He simply could not believe what he was hearing. His gaze wandered randomly from the devastated town in the distance to the veiled afternoon sun, his mind refusing to acknowledge the reality before him. He only wanted this day to be over so he could just close his eyes, forget everything and wake up in the library once more, with everything back to normal; but no matter how deep his claws were sinking into the hard soil, it was not turning into the wooden floor of his bedroom. He could not escape the painful truth.

"B-b-b-but Twilight!" he stammered, panic-stricken. She did not let him place another word.

"You're not one of us. You have just shown that you represent a threat to our security and we can't take any more risks. I'm giving you one chance to disappear before villagers come to hunt you down. You must leave now and never come back. Farewell, Spike." With that, she turned her back on him and trotted away determinately.

The baby dragon merely stared in shock as the silhouette of the one being he had in the world grew smaller and smaller. He desperately wanted to run after her and cling to her as hard as he could, but he found that he was unable to move. All he could do was cry and implore her in vain.

"W-wait! Twilight, please! P-please, don't leave me alone. I need you! Twilight... Twilight!"


	2. Chapter 2: Fear of the Dark

Changing World

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**Chapter 2: Fear of the Dark**

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"Twilight!"

Spike's eyes opened wide, only to find themselves staring into the purple irises of his unicorn friend, which appeared rather black in the pale moonlight.

"Ssshh, it's alright," she said softly, though with perceptible worry in her voice.

"What... what happened?" the dragon asked hoarsely, sitting up abruptly to inspect his surroundings.

"You had a nightmare. I heard you call my name."

Spike noticed that his claws had pierced holes into the new blanket Applejack had given him earlier as a birthday gift, and that the now charcoal-tainted rim of his basket reeked of burnt reed.

"I did?" he said in a low tone, rubbing his arm in embarrassment. "Well, sorry for waking you up."

Twilight shook her head. "Don't worry about that. Actually, I'd been finishing a book and had barely just gone to bed. Do you think you'll be able to go back to sleep?"

Reminiscing details of his dream that he wished he could erase from his memory, he clutched his tail and turned his head away.

"I don't know. I think I'd rather stay awake for a while. Would it bother you if I... just lit up a candle so it won't be so dark?"

"No, of course not. We'll leave a light on for the night if it can make you feel better."

While fetching the little lamp she used for her late night reading, Twilight wondered what kind of nightmare could have left her roommate so frightened. Lately, he had been particularly hard to get out of bed in the morning. Whether his dreams revolved around giant tasty gems, castles made of chocolate cake or Rarity finally falling for his awesome mustache – from what little sense she could make of his mumbled protests – most of the time, they seemed to be a lot more interesting than the idea of getting up for a good breakfast. Less pleasant ones tended to leave him in a rather grumpy mood, but it generally would not be long before he would shrug them off and even come to laugh at their absurdity.

Twilight could not quite recall the last time a nightmare had really scared him to the point of fearing the dark, though she did remember that the princess Celestia used to let her read the dragon hatchling to sleep when he was still under her care. The young student would carefully avoid stories that included evil dragons getting slayed by brave stallions in shining armor and, most of the time, she would change the ending to make the dragon win the heart of the fair lady and live happily ever after.

Of course, when Spike had gotten old enough to read, it had not been very long until he had found out that the dragon never was a good guy in the original tales. Despite his disappointment, he had said that he understood the dread ponies had always been inspired by his imposing ancestors – after all, they could not breathe fire and they had no claws or fangs to protect themselves. He had asked Twilight if she would also be afraid of him once he would have become a big dragon like the ones in her books. She had replied that it could not happen, because he was nothing like them; he was the friendliest dragon in all of Equestria and she knew he would never try to harm her.

Spike had seemed somewhat reassured, but as time passed, Twilight could tell that his head was filling up with questions he dared not ask, maybe by fear of being reminded of the many ways he was so different from everyone around him, or simply because he knew he would get no helpful answers. Living among ponies did not change the fact that he was not one himself, and he knew that despite his appearance, he was not like other dragons either. Normal individuals of his race did not make friends with different species and most definitely not with ponies. They did not read, cook or sleep in a basket. All the dragons he had ever heard about were a subject of terror. They lived alone in caves where they spent most of their time hoarding treasures and sleeping. Aware that he was caught in between two worlds from which he was bound to feel equally estranged, Spike had simply complied with the equine reality he had been brought up into, without ever confronting the expected behaviors he would not have spontaneously acquired in his natural environment.

As these thoughts ran around in Twilight's head, she realized that she had never really pondered how hard it must have been for Spike to find his place in a world that wasn't his. He had adapted surprisingly well to the ponies' pacific lifestyle and had willingly adopted their values, which contrasted heavily with the innate propensity of most dragons to avoid company, trust no one and seek only their own interest, not to mention their predatory instinct.

The princess had somehow succeeded in making him a vegetarian – limiting his uncommon food to gems – and in teaching him to keep his fire breath from causing too much damage. As Twilight's visits to the Canterlot nursery had become more frequent – motivated mostly by the opportunity she saw there to learn on a subject that was barely even mentioned in informative books – the baby dragon had manifested a growing affection for the filly who had hatched his egg by an eager desire to please her, which he later demonstrated by offering to assist her with her work.

At first unwilling to let anyone invade her personal space while she was studying, Twilight had been surprised to see how helpful the little creature turned out to be, especially when it came to tasks that required a dexterity that ponies lacked. He also had a good memory, which allowed him to learn fast and to locate books fairly quickly. Even at such a young age, the studious unicorn had other things on her mind than making friends, but she had grown fond of the little guy, whose easygoing demeanor had a way of breaking through her shell. After a while, she had come to appreciate his company itself as much as the efficient help he provided her and even to view him as her own apprentice.

Now her long-time official assistant, Spike's sarcasm sometimes rivaled her own pessimism and he had his less obliging days, but he possessed an overall light-hearted nature that counterbalanced her seriousness more harmoniously than she would have thought it possible. Despite his frequent lack of discipline and delicacy, his affection for Celestia's student was still very evident and, through the years, he had proven to be a faithful and devoted friend.


	3. Chapter 3: The Warmth of a Family

Changing World

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**Chapter 3: The Warmth of a Family **

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As she came back to her bed with the candle Spike had requested, Twilight wondered if the cause of her young friend's worries might have something to do with the events of the day. She reckoned it would be best to let him know that she was there if he needed a listening ear to confide to.

"You know what?" she said with a comprehensive smile. "I'm not very tired either, anyway. I think I'll just keep on reading for a while. I know you're too old for home-made bedtime stories now, but if you think reading or just talking could help you clear your head..."

"Yeah, thanks. I guess I could do with some company right now. Whatever the book, just... hearing your voice is good."

He was avoiding her eyes, visibly preoccupied. Twilight wished she could read his mind to help her understand. She sat down on the far end of her mattress so as to face him.

"That dream... it seems to be troubling you a lot. Do you want to talk about it?"

She could sense that Spike had become very tense, but he managed to keep a cool voice when he replied.

"Oh, uh... It was just me going nuts, destroying Ponyville and getting banished."

He had said it like it was no big deal, but Twilight knew him too well to get fooled by his apparent indifference. She patiently waited for him to say what was on his mind.

Fidgeting nervously, Spike finally took a deep breath and admitted:

"I know it was just a stupid dream, but... I can't stop thinking about... what happened earlier."

Twilight nodded knowingly. Of course, she thought, finding oneself growing uncontrollably and losing one's mind in the process ought to be a rather traumatic experience.

"It must have been terrifying. What did it feel like when you... started to change? Were you aware of all that was happening, or can't you remember a thing?"

Used to his friend's curiosity, Spike reluctantly tried to recall the moment when he had lost track of his actions.

"Well, I have some flashbacks, but it's all pretty blurred in my head, like it was some kind of dream. I wasn't really aware of what I was doing anymore. I mean, I could see what was happening, but it all felt so unreal... All I could see was things I wanted everywhere, and something kept telling me I _had_ to get them, _all_ of them. But the more I had, the more I wanted, and I ended up always needing more, until there seemed to be nothing left but that growing emptiness inside of me. It was a bit like... eating ice cream, except an awful lot stronger. I just couldn't stop myself. I couldn't think straight. I didn't even remember my name, or recognize my friends. I don't know what would've happened if not for Rarity." He sighed regretfully. "When she made me snap out of it, she nearly fell to her doom because of me, and I ended my day seeing the consequences of my rampage all over town... So yeah, you could say it was pretty awful."

Twilight bit her lip, now worried that bringing back those memories might not have been helpful at all.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up. Maybe you'd rather not talk about that."

Spike shrugged.

"It's okay. I'd be thinking about it anyway, so I might as well try to get it off my chest."

Twilight wanted to say something to comfort him, but she felt awkward and feared that one of her lectures might only leave him feeling worse. Silence fell over the room and remained untroubled, save for the ruffling sound of an owl smoothing his feathers, in a dark corner near the window.

After a while, Spike's voice was heard again, this time completely devoid of his usual confidence.

"Twilight?"

He sounded so weak and insecure that it seemed to her like she had gone back in time to the days when he could barely talk.

"Yes, Spike?"

"Is... is the princess gonna have to take me away?"

Twilight frowned.

"Take you away? Spike, what are you talking about?"

Looking down on his tattered blanket, he began tracing invisible circles on its surface with one claw.

"Well, you know, I mentioned in the letter I sent her tonight that I had learned an important lesson about being greedy, so she'll surely find out what happened. I caused a lot of havoc in town, knocking down houses and stuff... Everybody must have figured out it was me. It's not like there are other dragons in Ponyville..."

He lowered his head sadly and continued.

"Being the only one of my kind feels lonely sometimes, but at least, ponies have accepted me so far 'cause I didn't look scary for a dragon, I guess. Now, they're all gonna look at me differently. They'll see me as a threat and an unwelcome stranger among them. What if... they want me to go away?"

Twilight shifted uncomfortably on her bed. She had always avoided thinking about the difficulties her dragon assistant might encounter once he would get too big for the library, refusing to worry over issues that were still years away and that may not even concretize during her lifetime. Still, she could not deny that the fear of seeing that day come too soon was constantly on her mind.

Trying to sound convincing – perhaps in an attempt to reassure herself as much as her young friend, she firmly asserted:

"No pony will ask you to leave. Our friends know you well. They understand that you weren't being yourself and I'm sure they've already forgiven you. Besides, our town has gone through a lot more than that lately and it's still standing. I know it may sound ironic coming from me, but there's no use panicking over things that might just never happen."

"But you saw what I did to the library, to Sugarcube Corner and to the Apples' orchard. Just a few birthday presents caused all that. I could have ended up injuring someone, or worse..."

The vision of Rarity's still form came to his mind and he shuddered.

"I'm dangerous," he concluded dejectedly.

"No, you're not!" Twilight replied indignantly, leaning over the edge of her bed to look at him. "Don't say such things. No pony got hurt and I'm certain that this incident won't repeat itself, because you've learned a valuable lesson today. Listen, Spike, we all make mistakes. It's an unpleasant fact, but it's part of life and that's how we become better ponies... I mean, beings. You're definitely not the first to give in to a selfish impulse. Now you have to forgive yourself and remember what you've learned from this. The most important thing is that your love for your friends was stronger than your want in the end and it gave the real you the will to resurface. You were able to get a hold of yourself because you have a good heart."

Spike's brow furrowed as a new thought came to him.

"How can I know for sure that the good in me really is from me? I mean, being raised by ponies might have saved me from turning out like that cranky old brute I ran into the other night, but maybe nature is starting to take over. I'm trying to live like a pony, but what if I really am a dragon at heart? Dragons are known to burn down cities and to spend their lives stealing treasures, right? They don't even value friendship. The only one I've met so far tried to kill me! I don't want to become like that. I... I always thought living among ponies made me like one of them, but I just proved that I can't change what I am."

Twilight felt her heart sink and she sighed sympathetically.

"I understand. It would be useless denying that you _are_ constituted differently from the rest of us and Zecora did say that dragons were prone to greed, but Spike... what you are is a very different thing from who you are. You mustn't think that being a dragon is a bad thing just because there are some that have chosen to follow their lower instincts. We ponies have our own share of flaws too, you're perfectly aware of that. Just living with me taught you enough about unhealthy perfectionism, I believe."

A discreet chuckle escaped Spike's half-smile and Twilight added:

"The circumstances of your birth may be peculiar, but no matter what your specific weaknesses are or how big you'll get, it's only your actions that define who you really are. What your heart is made of shows through all the time you spend helping me without complaining or asking for anything in return, or that beautiful ruby you gave up just to make Rarity happy. You can't wake up one day with a completely different personality if you stay true to yourself. You always have a choice and I know you'll make the right ones. I have faith in you."

Spike looked slightly relieved, but still thoughtful.

"I just hope you're right," he said. "I don't think I could forgive myself if I harmed someone. I'd never do so on purpose, but what if I should lose control again and forget who I am?"

Before Twilight could find something to answer, Spike went on with his train of thought.

"It's just... I... I'm scared, Twilight. I don't want things to change. I wish I could just stay this way and keep on living in the tree house with you forever. I don't want to have to leave my friends and all I have here. This is my home. I have no other place to go to, because you... you're the only family I have. I don't want to cause you any trouble. I don't know what I'd do if... if I..."

He trailed off, a lump having formed in his throat.

"Oh, Spike..."

Twilight closed her eyes and a pinkish glow began to emanate from her horn. Spike felt his body being lifted up and out of his basket, to be dropped gently onto the unicorn's bed. The latter used her magic to bring him close and tenderly wrapped her forelegs around his small figure.

"Here," she whispered soothingly, "everything's going to be alright, I promise."

Slightly taken aback by this unusual display of affection and somewhat ashamed of the vulnerability he could not hide, the young dragon only hesitated a moment before throwing his stubby arms around the purple mare's neck. As sobs started to shake his body, he buried his face into his lifelong friend's mane and tightened his grip as though his life depended on it.

The two remained locked in this silent embrace until Twilight finally pulled away enough to face him.

"Spike, do you remember the vow I made when princess Celestia allowed me to take you as my personal assistant?"

He only looked up at her expectantly.

"I supposed not. You were so young... That day, I swore on my most faithful student's honor that from that moment on, I would look over you as if you were my own little brother. I said that I would take you with me everywhere I'd go until you would be ready to go live your own life, and that I would be there for you anytime you need a friend. Now look at me, Spike."

She lifted his chin up with her hoof and his still wet green eyes finally met hers.

"Did I ever break a promise?"

Seeing his uncertain expression, Twilight quickly rectified:

"Alright, I'm not very good at keeping secrets, I admit it. This is a solemn vow we're talking about, though. You know I never make promises I don't intend to keep at any cost, right?"

Spike answered with a positive nod.

"Well, every word I said is as true today as it was when I first made that commitment. You're still my number one assistant, except that now, you are also much more than that. You have become part of my family and a special place in my heart will always be yours. Nothing you can do will ever change that, and I wouldn't let anyone take you away from me. Even if the princess herself declared that you had to leave Ponyville, then I would go with you. You're more important to me than you know, Spike, and for as long as my name is Twilight Sparkle, I will never let you be alone in this world. Can you trust me on that?"

Spike quietly shook his head and huddled close to his dearest friend, like he had done for the last time on a stormy night, back when he was still a hatchling. In the earliest years of his life, doing so would keep him warm when the winter chills got too cold for his reptilian body, but now, it was his heart that he could feel warming up. He had needed to hear those words so desperately, to be assured that the home he had found in his unicorn companion was there to stay.

"Thanks, Twi," he said. "For being like family to me and... for everything. You know, I've often wondered what my life might've been like if I'd grown up with my real parents, but right now it doesn't matter. You're the one who's always been there for me and I wouldn't want it any other way. You make a great sister."

Although her vision was blurring, a warm smile spread across Twilight's features.

"And you're the most loyal assistant I could hope for, as well as my very best friend. I haven't said it enough, but... I love you, Spike."

The young dragon beamed up.

"Love you too," he answered sleepily, before curling up into a scaly ball between the pony's front legs and letting heavy eyelids shut down on his burning eyes.

As the sound of snoring rose into the night, the purple mare smiled fondly at her little friend, thinking of how fast he was growing. He had matured so much since their departure from Canterlot, now affirming his character and striving to gain more independence each day, and yet there were times like this when he still seemed so fragile. Twilight hoped she would find a healthy balance between his increasing desire for respect and consideration and his remaining innocence that required careful guidance. She had taken upon her to be a teacher and a model for him, but now she could see how much he needed her to also be the one true friend he could always lean on.

Of course, he would certainly get to live much longer than Twilight or any of their friends would. Someday, she would have to go and leave him to find his own path in life. The mere thought of her protégé leaving the world of ponies and all he had ever known behind to face the big wild unknown on his own tore her apart, but she resolved in her heart to make the best of her time with him. For as long as she would live, she would protect him and help him find his place. He would share her adventures, let the magic of friendship grow him into the best individual he could be and start his adult life with happy memories to spare; and when he could no longer see her by his side, he would always know how dearly she had cared for him.

Laying her head down beside her sleeping companion's, Twilight decided that the next time she would see the princess, she would not miss the occasion to thank her for letting her take the baby dragon with her. Spike had shown her that caring for someone who looked up to her was a great responsibility, but most of all a great privilege. She was learning that the love of a family, no matter if bound by blood or by the heart, was infinitely more powerful than any spell she could learn from books, and that it was the only magic that truly made life worth living.

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_**Author's final note: **__That's all, every pony. I know this isn't the most original idea ever, since that episode had inspired other Bronies before me, but I decided to give it a try anyway, because the relationship between these two characters is my favorite aspect of the show. Twilight and Spike usually refer to each other as friends, but the way I see it, living together for so long made them become more like family. Twilight cares for the orphaned dragon in a very motherly way, but the age gap between them isn't that important and I think their interactions most resemble those of an elder child caring for her younger (adopted) brother, though I understand that some fans may interpret it differently. Anyway, I really like the fact that Spike isn't depicted as a pet or some minion only there to serve Twilight. They obviously share a strong bond, which I find very heartwarming. I wanted to insist on how important Twilight's approbation has to be for Spike, since she appears to be the most significant pony in his life._

_Having watched the entire second season before I started writing this, I would have liked to refer to the events __of "__Dragon Quest", since that episode is the one that has touched the subject of Spike's identity the most so far, but I did not, because I wanted to __situate __this fic right after "Secret of my Excess", when the events were still very fresh in Spike's memory._

_That's pretty much all I had to say in conclusion, so thanks again for taking the time to read this story and please feel free to leave me a little review! ;)_

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**_Update:_**_ I would like to thank my first reviewer, **Heartless demon wolf**, for the positive feedback. Precise and honest comments help me know what my readers preferred and how I can improve my writing. Your support is very appreciated!_

_A warm thank you also to those who have added this fic to their favorite stories. It's always encouraging. ^_^_


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